College, district and community officials gathered on Oct. 23 to dedicate the Exotic Animal Training and Management Program building complex at America’s Teaching Zoo.
Stephen Ehrlich, the architect of the complex, was among the attendees at the event. He explained how the EATM program gave him inspiration for the bulding’s design.
“The main point I wanted to make was that the big roofs of the building are like the wings of a bird,” said Ehrlich.
The EATM complex, which opened in the spring of 2012, provided students with classroom space, a veterinary lab, and an auditorium space where presentations of the animals from the zoo are featured. The dedication was held a year and a half after the building’s opening, a result of paperwork and scheduling hurdles.
Dean of Student Learning Life and Health Sciences Kimberly Hoffmans, Moorpark College President Dr. Bernard Luskin, and Chancellor Dr. Jamillah Moore each gave speeches that praised the complex and what it has provided for students.
The dedication proceeded with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, and ended with a tour of the complex led by Hoffmans as well as a tour of the zoo led by a few EATM students.
During the tour, Ehrlich explained more of his inspirations for the complex’s design.
“There is a green room for the animals like there is one for actors. “[The green room’s door] is the width of a water buffalo and the height of a camel.”
Paige Shultz, one of the EATM students at the zoo during the tour, prefers the complex to the portable classrooms that were previously used.
“”It is much nicer and more productive for learning,” said Shultz.